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Cover Reveal
 Fright and Fun Collide in R.J. Palacio’s Halloween Picture BookR.J. Palacio, author of the 16-million-copy middle grade bestseller Wonder, has teamed up with A Series of Unfortunate Events illustrator Brett Helquist for a Halloween-themed picture book inspired by their Brooklyn neighborhood. Click through for a first look at The Haunted Playground, due in July from Random House. more  In the News
 Literary Agents Step Up for Every Child a Reader and SCBWI’s Action FundWith a $10,000 donation, a group of literary agents is helping children’s organizations purchase and distribute books to school libraries across the U.S. On January 7, during a livestreamed gathering, the Children’s Book Council and the Impact and Legacy Fund of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators announced the gift from the Literary Agent Circle of Sponsors. more  Folio Literary Management Acquires Greenhouse Literary AgencyThe deal, which Folio said reinforces its commitment to children’s and YA books, will see Greenhouse’s list and team join the agency’s children’s division, Folio Jr., with director Chelsea Eberly taking the role of VP and agent. more
Reading Roundup
 New and Noteworthy Children’s and YA Books: January 2026The new year heralds exciting new titles, including a picture book that highlights a famous scientist's brainstorming process, a middle grade novel about a tween chasing popularity, a YA murder mystery inspired by a literary classic, and more. more Four Questions
 V.T. BidaniaV.T. Bidania was a baby in 1975 when her Hmong family escaped the Communist government taking control of Laos after the end of the Vietnam War. In her new middle grade novel in verse, A Year Without Home, Bidania tells her family’s story in the voice of her oldest sister, who was 11 when they fled Laos. The author spoke with PW about trying to research a “secret war,” and bringing public awareness to Hmong history and culture. Q: Why did you feel it was important to write this story for a middle grade audience? A: There are a few books about Hmong refugees, but there are no middle grade novels from the point of view of a child. I want my book to give young readers an awareness and understanding of war and what it’s like to lose your home, your country, and everything you love. I hope that I can help build empathy for kids they might know, who had to leave their homes and countries they love. I wanted to tell not just a refugee story, but a human story. more  
Rights Report
 Kelsey Horton at Delacorte Press has acquired When Songbirds Bleed by Emma Jackson (A House of Vipers), in which a group of privileged teens spend a final summer at their beloved Maine beach house and decide to attempt a secret excursion in a private plane, only to endure a devastating crash—and their only hope for rescue lies in a wilderness cult that doesn't intend for them to leave. Publication is slated for summer 2027; Rachel Beck at Liza Dawson Associates brokered the deal for world rights.  Emily Duffy at Union Square Kids has bought, in a preempt, Fiddle Finder and the Golden Goose Chase by James Burks (Bird & Squirrel), a middle grade graphic novel about a boy who goes on an adventure to solve a mystery. Publication is scheduled for fall 2027; Kelly Sonnack at Andrea Brown Literary Agency handled the two-book deal for world English rights.  Krista Vitola at S&S and Yashaswi Kesanakurthy at S&S Canada have acquired, at auction, two books by Rachel Poliquin. The first book, How to Play Hockey Like a Viking God, is an illustrated younger middle grade about 11-year-old Rune who lives in a tiny frozen town. When Rune decides to "borrow" his famous great-grandfather's hockey stick, he discovers an ancient mystery that connects his town and family to the Viking gods and a pantheon of malevolent Frost Giants and monsters ready for battle. Publication is set for summer 2027; Amy Tompkins at Transatlantic Literary did the deal for world rights.  Mary Colgan at Chronicle Books has bought world English rights to the Lark series, an illustrated early chapter book series by Jenn Bishop (l.), illustrated by A.A. Vacharat. The series follows the adventures of a girl with a big imagination and her stubbornly practical older brother Silas, who live with their grandparents. The first book in the series, Lark Grows a Cat, will publish in fall 2027; Katie Grimm at Curtis Brown represented the author, and Kelly Dyksterhouse at Tobias Literary Agency represented the illustrator.  Alessandra Balzer at Macmillan/Balzer + Bray has acquired North American English rights to Caldecott Honoree David Ezra Stein's Baby Bunny Won't Stop, an interactive picture book that puts readers in charge of a baby bunny with daredevil tendencies who finds himself in increasingly outlandish and precarious situations. Publication is planned for winter 2027; Holly McGhee at Pippin Properties negotiated the deal.  Sylvie Frank at Flamingo Books has bought, in a preempt, I Love You No Matter What by debut author-illustrator and former Lilly Pulitzer print designer Paige Spearin. Pitched as Beatrix Potter for the millennial parent, it celebrates parental love and support as a bunny navigates everyday challenges and joys, from drink spills to sibling squabbles. Publication is slated for spring 2027, with two untitled books to follow; Gwen Beal at UTA sold world rights.  Laura Godwin at Macmillan/Godwin Books has acquired Tokki's Tricks by Aram Kim, a picture book retelling of a beloved Korean folktale featuring a quick-witted rabbit who must outsmart a determined softshell turtle who has deceived him. Publication is scheduled for fall 2026; Erica Rand Silverman at Stimola Literary Studio brokered the deal for North American rights.  Emma Ledbetter while at Abrams bought rights for Shy, a picture book by Julie Andrews (l.) and Emma Walton Hamilton (c.), illustrated by Eva Byrne (r.). Inspired by Andrews's real-life "singing" dog, the story stars a shy puppy who discovers the magic of music. Publication is set for August 2026; Emma Ledbetter and Sara Sproull will edit. Janine Kamouh at William Morris Endeavor represented the authors and Anne Moore Armstrong at Bright Agency represented the illustrator.  Deirdre Jones at Little, Brown has acquired world rights to The Book of Various Children, about a cast of quirky children—from the brave, to the inventive, to the forgetful, to the goofy—with intersecting storylines, by Dev Petty (l.), illustrated by Keiko Hayner. Publication is planned for winter 2028; Jennifer Rofé at Andrea Brown Literary Agency represented the author, and Sophie Sheumaker at BookEnds Literary represented the illustrator.  Nancy Paulsen at Penguin/Nancy Paulsen Books has bought world rights to You'll Remember Sycamore by Derrick Barnes (l.), illustrated by Shamar Knight-Justice (the team that created I Got You), about how growing up in a loving, affirming home impacts kids and how those experiences mold them. Publication is scheduled for fall 2027; Regina Brooks at Serendipity Literary Agency represented the author, and Christy Ewers at the CAT Agency represented the illustrator.  Stephanie Pitts at Putnam has acquired world rights to Jake Makes Mistakes by Carrie Finison (l.), illustrated by Daniel Wiseman, the duo behind Don't Hug Doug and Even Steven. The new picture book is about a boy who feels terrible every time he messes up—until he sees that everyone makes mistakes and learns to talk positively to himself through his blunders. Publication is set for spring 2028; Linda Epstein at Emerald City Literary Agency represented the author, and Teresa Kietlinski at Bookmark Literary represented the illustrator.  Naomi Shulman at PJ Publishing has bought world rights to From Me to You, L'Dor V'Dor by Sara Holly Ackerman (l.), illustrated by Dan Tavis, a board book that follows a grandfather sharing his time, knowledge, and love with his very young granddaughter through everyday activities. Publication is slated for summer 2027; Tricia Lawrence while at Erin Murphy Literary represented the author, and Ginger Knowlton at Curtis Brown represented the illustrator. IN THE MEDIA
FEATURED REVIEWS
  Now I See Spring; Now I See Summer; Now I See Fall; Now I See WinterMac Barnett, illus. by Jon Klassen. Tundra, $9.99 (24p) ISBN 978-1-77488-673-1; ISBN 978-1-77488-677-9; ISBN 978-1-77488-665-6; ISBN 978-1-77488-669-4 Frequent creative collaborators Barnett and Klassen capture a year’s rhythms with stunning subtlety via a standout board book quartet that—across volumes named around the four seasons—matches spare text, identical in each work, with varying images that relay the passage of time. The artist’s signature-style illustrations, meanwhile, offer portrayals that gently shift across temporal transitions, including “the perfect hat” the narrator sports for each season. more  102Matthew Cordell. Little, Brown, $18.99 (48p) ISBN 978-0-316-58095-3 In an intricately wrought, ambitious picture book, Caldecott Medalist Cordell creates a humane adventure that unfolds in and around a cozy abode, peppering the telling with a reappearing number that adds mysterious significance. Sent home from school on October 2 with a fever that soon rises to 102 °F, young George spots a mouse transporting a tiny black object and, before retiring to bed, persuades his mother to keep the creature in an old tank. more  PhoenixKimberly Brubaker Bradley. Dial, $17.99 (176p) ISBN 978-0-593-85986-5 As if learning that her parents were getting divorced wasn’t bad enough, gossip at school soon reveals to tween Harper the reason behind the separation: Harper’s father and her best friend’s mother have been having an affair. Now, after moving into a small home on the grounds of a riding stable in the Tennessee countryside, Harper and her mom attempt to start over. Harper feels adrift—until a slaughterhouse truck abandons an ailing horse at the stable. Empathizing with the horse, Harper names him Phoenix and resolves to do everything she can to help him. more  Estela, UndrowningRené Peña-Govea. Quill Tree, $19.99 (368p) ISBN 978-0-06-342995-6 In Peña-Govea’s arresting debut, a high school senior determines to make space for herself. As one of the few Latinx students at her exclusive San Francisco school, 17-year-old Estela feels pressure to excel academically. Simmering racial tensions escalate when Estela’s non-Latinx classmate enters and wins the “Latiné Heritage Poetry Contest,” inspiring student protests. more  To Steal a ThroneGabi Burton. Bloomsbury, $20.99 (368p) ISBN 978-1-5476-1727-2 A teen magician contemplates vengeance in this empowering series opener. Most Virdei citizens believe the country is ruled by Virdeian-born men, and that all the republic’s magic users, or aikkari, have been conscripted into military service. In truth, some aikkari pull strings from the shadows. Burton weaves an intricate plot that cleverly capitalizes on ingenious worldbuilding and lore to engineer exponentially increasing stakes and suspense. more |
January 13, 2026
 
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People Giuseppe Trapani has been named director of rights and permissions sales at Capstone; most recently he was senior business development manager in the children's and educational division of Oxford University Press. Mark Your Calendar  The National Children’s Museum welcomes visitors to view its new exhibition Pigeon Comes to Washington, DC! A Mo Willems Exhibit, which opens to the public on January 17 and runs through May 10. The exhibit will be interactive, offering guests the opportunity for hands-on play and to create their own art. It will also showcase characters from Willems's books, such as The Pigeon, Knuffle Bunny, Elephant and Piggie, and locations featured in his work. For more information, click here. Bestsellers  Children’s Frontlist Fiction#1 Talons of Power (Wings of Fire #9) by Tui T. Sutherland, illus. by Mike Holmes. Click here  Picture Books#1 For the Fans! KPop Demon Hunters by Angela Song. Click here Follow Us  Follow us on Bluesky and Instagram! CONTACT US
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Children's Bookshelf
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